TYGER WOODS SHOWS GREAT DRIVE TO WIN
Tyrone 6-8 Meath 1-14
A GOAL in each half from captain Neamh Woods helped Tyrone claim the intermediate title and secured their return to senior football after a three-year absence.
Niamh Hughes, Gráinne Rafferty and Gemma Begley also hit the net for Gerry Moane’s side, who put the upset of last year’s defeat at the same stage behind them.
After electing to play against the wind, Meath did well to find the target first when captain
Niamh O’sullivan made the most of
Stacey Grimes’ strong run on four minutes.
But Tyrone’s hit back straight away and the lead was theirs when Woods exchanged passes with Rafferty and palmed to the net after six minutes.
Woods was pulling the strings at midfield, while Tyrone’s powerful halfback line carried well, so it was no shock to see them goal again in the tenth minute. The felled Áine Canavan did well to get her pass away to Hughes and she finished coolly to the net (below).
The early goal rush continued for Tyrone when Rafferty crept in behind the Meath cover after 13 minutes and finished off Begley’s diagonal delivery, which gave her side a 3-1 to 0-1 advantage.
Eamonn Murray’s side were rocked but with Grimes to the fore, they produced a powerful ten-minute spell to close the gap to 3-2 to 0-7.
Tyrone’s Chloe Mccaffrey then stopped the rot with a great point, before substitute Niamh O’neill – on for the injured Canavan – finished off another super move to the net for a 4-3 to 0-7 half-time lead.
A veteran of the 2010 senior final, Woods is real driving force in this Tyrone team, and two minutes after the restart she waltzed though the Meath defence to fire in her second goal.
Niamh O’neill showed her talent with three points in six minutes to push Tyrone 12 points ahead, although soon after she was sent to the sin bin along with Meath’s Máire O’shaughnessy.
Grimes, Vikki Wall and Orlagh Lally kept Meath’s tally moving, but Begley’s goal ended their All-ireland dream for another year, despite Grimes’s late penalty.
SCORERS – TYRONE: N Woods 2-0, N O’neill 1-3, G Rafferty 1-2, G Begley 1-1 (0-1f), N Hughes 1-0, C Mccaffrey 0-2.
MEATH: S Grimes 1-5 (1-0 pen, 0-3f), N O’sullivan 0-2, F O’neill 0-2, O Lally 0-2, V Wall 0-1, M Thynne 0-1, E White 0-1.